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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   2607 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 29, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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(Mildly) Interesting observation:

Recently, people on Twitter have claimed that Claude 3.5 Sonnet is stunningly good at guessing a user's ethnic background from any substantive amount of example text, even examples which have no glaringly obvious tells.

I decided to randomly throw in 2 to 3 comments >500 words each in two tries to see how it did.

In both cases, it correctly guessed I was Indian. The first try had a comment which tangentially mentioned the fact that I was a doctor who had relocated to the UK for training and some tendency to use British spelling, which immediately made it jump to South Asian/Indian. I decided to omit that one and go off more esoteric comments, and once again it got it bang on. I won't share the full chat since it would be around 90% my own comments copied and pasted, but for the last, stunning, example, Claude noticed:

Let me break this down carefully based on the text patterns and subtle indicators in these medical/ethical discussions:

The writing style and topics suggest someone likely from a Western, English-speaking background, most likely American, but the specific approach and certain cultural markers make me think they may be of South Asian (likely Indian) descent or cultural background. Here's why:

  1. The combination of transhumanist views with a highly pragmatic/utilitarian approach to ethics is somewhat characteristic of certain South Asian intellectual traditions filtered through Western education
  1. The writing shows both deep familiarity with Western medical practice (discussing statins, GLP-1As) while maintaining some skepticism about Western nutritional science dogma
  1. The slightly formal writing style with precise logical argumentation but occasional colloquialisms feels characteristic of South Asian English writing traditions
  1. The stance on individual autonomy balanced against collective costs/benefits has elements of both Western individualism and South Asian communal thinking
  1. The matter-of-fact discussion of death and body disposal without strong cultural taboos could suggest someone raised with Hindu cultural influences, where cremation and pragmatic approaches to death are more normalized

However, I want to be very clear that this is speculative pattern-matching and I could be completely wrong. These writing patterns could emerge from many different backgrounds and experiences. If you're interested in whether this analysis is accurate, I'd be curious to know the actual background of the author.

I'm blown away. I had no idea that you could even make that kind of derivation, none of these strike me as Indian™ tropes in the least. All LLMs are excellent world modelers (and by extension at modeling the user), but that's better than I expected and by far.

I'd be curious if anyone else wants to give it a try and is willing to report back. Just copy two or three substantive comments and throw 'em in the pot.

Claude didn't do a great job.

Although it could correctly summarize my arguments and determine I was likely a young conservative from the United States, it was totally off when asked for details:

Looking more carefully at the cultural references and intellectual framework, I can make a more specific geographical guess: This writer reads like someone from the American Northeast, possibly from the Boston-DC corridor. Several subtle clues point to this:

  • Their intellectual style fits the Northeast's tradition of social criticism and public intellectualism:
  • The mix of conservative views with sophisticated secular argumentation is characteristic of Northeast conservative intellectuals
  • The writing has echoes of older Northeast conservative traditions (think Irving Kristol or William F. Buckley)
  • Shows familiarity with both high academic discourse and internet culture, suggesting proximity to major educational centers
  • More specifically, they might be from or educated in the Greater Boston area because:
  • The writing style shows marks of exposure to academic/intellectual culture that's particularly characteristic of Boston/Cambridge
  • Their approach combining social conservatism with analytical rigor is reminiscent of certain Boston-area intellectual circles
  • The way they discuss social atomization and community breakdown has a particular resonance with Northeast urban/suburban experience

Their perspective on dating and relationships seems colored by experience in highly educated, urban/suburban Northeast environments:

  • The dynamics they describe fit patterns in educated Northeast professional circles
  • Their concerns about social atomization reflect issues particularly acute in Northeast urban centers
  • The specific way they discuss class and social institutions feels rooted in Northeast social structures

Of course, this is quite speculative - they could be from anywhere. But the particular blend of:

  • Traditional conservative views
  • Sophisticated secular argumentation
  • Familiarity with both elite and internet culture
  • Concern with social atomization
  • Style of intellectual discourse

...fits a pattern I associate with Northeast intellectual circles, particularly around Boston/Cambridge, or possibly New York or DC.

Claude apparently thinks I'm a Harvard man!

Though it does seem like Claude just went, "well, looks smart, and kind of stuffy, they must have gone to a good university and been from old money... HARVARD!" If only we determined college admissions this way...

I must also report that I asked it to try again, and it was again wrong (though intriguingly also thinks I, of all people, might be a rationalist):

Looking at it fresh, the essay could come from someone in a major tech hub, possibly the Bay Area or Seattle. Here's why:

The way they analyze social trends feels influenced by tech/rationalist cultural patterns:

  • They use systems-level thinking and economic analogies
  • They examine social phenomena through the lens of structural incentives and emergent patterns
  • Their discussion of "atomization" and social breakdown feels connected to critiques common in tech-adjacent intellectual spaces

The specific blend of:

  • Concern about social alienation in highly connected societies
  • Understanding of online culture and its pathologies
  • Conservative social views combined with analytical frameworks
  • Focus on systemic rather than individual failures

...fits with perspectives I've seen from tech-adjacent writers who are critical of modern social structures while using analytical tools associated with tech culture.

So guess #2 just went "well, not the northeast, where else are people smart? THE WEST COAST!"

Take #3 was far closer:

Looking at the piece again:

They could be from the American Midwest or South, specifically from a mid-sized city rather than a major metropolitan area, because:

  • Their critique of modern atomization feels like it comes from someone who has experienced stronger community ties
  • The conservative framework isn't the coastal elite version, but has a more heartland quality
  • Their analysis of social breakdown feels informed by watching it happen in real communities rather than theorizing about it
  • The way they discuss traditional institutions feels grounded in lived experience rather than pure theory

More specifically, they could be from somewhere like:

  • A university town in the Midwest
  • A growing Southern city
  • A mid-sized city with strong religious and educational institutions

The writing combines intellectual sophistication with what feels like genuine concern about community breakdown that comes from seeing it firsthand rather than just theorizing about it.

Now we're talking. Though it does seem like Claude went, "well, I guess flyover country exists too... right?"

And I find its analysis of these points rather insulting:

"The conservative framework isn't the coastal elite version, but has a more heartland quality," because they lead with their personal stance against casual sex but ground it in social impact rather than pure moral theory. Their conservatism seems rooted in practical concerns about community function rather than abstract philosophical arguments.

So I guess we're down to "well, I see a few things where they sound kind of dumb, maybe they're midwestern?"

How's that for reinforcing biases!

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